Let the Games Begin
by Saramis Kismet
Summary: With the ghost king vanquished, just a few loose strands are up in the air for one girl. Told from her POV, fluffless but you'll be satisfied with whats there.


**Let The Games Begin**

_Author's Note: Sitting there, one page in to both Eternal and Never Good Enough, I decide that, hey, I feel like writing a one-shot! So what do I do? Once again skive off homework and previous duties to bring forth a one-shot. Involves my favorite character and one part of the series I hope to see bloom in the future on screen._

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It was strange, she thought, how the past few days had epically changed the city and herself. One huge event that takes up such a short time equal to the changes that had been going on in Amity Park (and, once again, her own mind) had taken place.

The details? She knew very little of them. All she knew was that two ghosts named Pariah Dark and the Fright Knight had laid siege on the defenseless humans. Well, besides her and the Fentons, of course. The ring Mr. Masters had given her as an heirloom of the ghost hunters had been involved, also. It must have had some impressive powers if some egocentric, self-proclaimed ghost king had wanted it so badly. Other than that, all she knew was that in the end, the city was returned to this plane of reality and the ghost skeletons deteriorated into some form of ectoplasmic dust.

Oh, that, and her dad knew about her little pastime job. When she got her hands around that white little neck…

In some ways, the aftereffects were good; not for the first time, the city was reminded of the very real threat that ghosts held over humans. Sometimes, even living in Amity Park, people had a tendency to forget. Her dad and the Fentons had begun to cooperate on increasing the town and its surrounding area's defense systems in the event of a recurrence of the attacks. Also, along the way, she'd healed her relationship with Danny, coincidentally the son of the two most infamous ghost hunters in the area. Not that her past with the boy was ever healthy before now, but it had definitely improved. _Definitely_.

Of course, one thing had seriously plucked at her nerves after the town was rescued. The ghost boy. That Phantom kid. Better name than Inviso-Bill, she had to admit, but the new name came with a new image that she knew was false. Yeah, he saved the town. But he was also known for putting the town in terror. He'd stolen, held the mayor hostage, totally wrecked a ton of buildings… okay, so that was unfair seeing as how she had too, but her reasons were justified. How could one deed, however good, completely turn him into the ghost savior of Amity Park?

Her father, of all people, knew about her hunting. So far he'd been a lot lighter on the punishment than she expected him to be. She couldn't fire weapons indoors, all of the packages sent to her had to be checked by him since he was trained in handling weapons, blah, blah, add a few more hindrances and you've got the general idea. Like she said, despite whatever truce they had before her mask was pulled off, that ghost kid was going to be in so much pain that he was going to experience a second death.

Now that she thought more about it, whatever happened to that other ghost who was fighting with them?

Panting slightly, Valerie looked at the green numbers on her digital clock. It was still early, but school was finally started again, nearly a week after the ghosts had retreated. She rested the weights she'd been lifting in their place, a corner in her small room, and let her thick black hair down over her shoulders. Training always had her thinking about things. For the past couple of days, all that had been on her mind was the ghost attacks, along with the newly added Mr. Masters and Danny.

She had to admit that the latter brought better thoughts. He was actually a pretty cool guy, despite what her old companions always muttered behind his back and in front of his face. In fact, now, he was the closest thing Valerie had to a friend. Sam and Tucker's sudden fierceness to keep her out of the loop wasn't helping much, though.

Despite their severely rocky start after Valerie fell into lower-middle class status, the whole thing with the flour sack seemed to kick off a resolution. The made up, became friendly acquaintances. Then, quite suddenly, they were good friends.

There was still plenty of time to take a shower to wash the sweat from her dark skin before school began. Two hours, in fact, seeing as how she awoke at 5:30. But as she stripped her workout clothes and readied herself, she decided that instead of the normal cool shower, she deserved a steaming hot bath.

* * *

Was she truly nuts for wanting to go back to school? 

The brief break from the eight-hour school day probably only seemed boring because she had neither ghosts to hunt nor Danny to flirt with. For a moment the comparison between Fenton and the ghost boy arouse in her mind as it had since his name was revealed. Strange how she could be crushing on one and tracking down the other.

Speaking of which, above the normal sounds of teenagers running through the halls, restless due to the short-lived vacation, Valerie could hear a certain laugh that as of late was all too familiar.

Down the hall standing next to his locker she saw the back of Danny's head, with both Sam and Tucker in front of him. Ignoring the fact that both her ex-boyfriend and newly instated social obstacle were there, she cut her way through the thinning masses. She caught the glances both Sam and Tucker gave her, not necessarily warm or disapproving. Apparently Danny caught it, too, because he turned around to follow their line of vision. He smiled and greeted her, "Morning Val. You look awake."

"I had a good morning," she answered. She noticed Sam looked incredibly tired, even for her usual moodiness in the mornings. "What's up? Feeling okay?" Her smile had the undertones that only another woman could recognize, so evidently neither male caught the gleam in her eye.

"I'm fine," she replied, the same subtext reflected in her voice.

"Are you sure, Sam?" asked Danny, raising one eyebrow in concern. "You like awfully beat. When did you fall asleep?"

"Lord only knows," said Tucker teasingly, speaking for the first time since Valerie arrived. Sam only shrugged and looked at him meaningfully. Danny sighed and turned away from them, seeming exasperated.

Gee, thought Valerie, I wonder why.

"You're dad's been talking to my parents a lot, hasn't he?" he asked. "Looks like they're going to start working together on the whole ghost thing."

Sam muttered something under her breath, the word "ironic" barely audible before Tucker discreetly elbowed her. They seemed to do that a lot, especially around her. They were confusing and frustrating all in one instant.

She shook it off and acted as though nothing happened. "I suppose so," she replied, shifting the weight of her heavy backpack to the other side. "I haven't seen you much, though, since Mr. Masters found you after the attacks. How are you healing up?"

"Oh, I'm not hurt," he said, smiling. "I wasn't really, just exhausted. Passing out gave me all the sleep I needed."

Valerie nodded. Despite his friends being right next to them, she knew that the conversation was now one on one. She liked it better that way. "So how does your family know Mr. Masters, anyway?"

Danny glanced at his friends quickly, as if asking a silent question. He apparently got his answer, adding to her puzzlement, and said, "Old college buddies. There's a lot of… thin ice there, though."

"Oh." She was tempted to delve further; Masters hadn't really been very specific when he explained everything to her. No way was she going to blow her cover, though. Her dad knowing was bad enough, but Danny?

At that moment Tucker's dark complexion paled significantly and Sam rolled her eyes. Looking over her shoulder, she spotted the personification of testosterone in human flesh nearing, malevolence reeking from his body. Danny sighed again, annoyed this time, and banged the back of his head against the locker.

"No funny stuff," she heard someone whisper too loudly behind her. Scratch what she said earlier; they did that _all_ the time.

"Hey, Foh-lee," Dash mocked, pressing one hand against the wall just over Valerie's head. Dear Lord, did she honestly use to sit with this lump of muscle? For that small favor of opening her eyes, she grudgingly thanked Phantom for. "Looks like you've got a girl to hang around the lovebirds with."

"I do not!"

"He does not!"

Dash smirked smugly. Valerie mentally slapped herself for giving him the satisfaction of reacting so angrily. Now, both her and Tucker were standing shoulder-to-shoulder, glaring up at the blond boy. She fought down the urge to say, "Been there, done that, on to new things Mr. Underwear Collector."

Though it was very appealing.

"Yeah, right," Dash said dismissively. "I know Fentina's not that big of a lady's man, but maybe he just got bored with the freak show here." Danny's scowl grew more defined and, Valerie noticed absent mindedly, his eyes seemed to literally flash with contempt. "Or maybe he just attracts losers, seeing as how he'd never be able to get –"

"Leave him alone!" shouted Valerie, instantaneously with Sam. The thin, but defiant girl had replaced Tucker on her side. For a moment, both looked at each other in surprise, before returning their glares at Dash.

"I've got this," muttered Danny from behind them. He pushed her backward, along with an extremely ticked off Sam. Danny stepped forward and looked up in Dash's eyes, and though Valerie couldn't see, she could practically feel the irritation coming off of him like static electricity. "Seriously, Dash, next time I'm not going to feel like apologizing. I will feel like doing something to remind you to stop messing with my friends."

Dash sneered, taking his words as empty threats, but he walked away all the same, nearly weightless head held high.

As soon as he disappeared from view, Danny breathed in sharply. His eyes landed on Tucker and he grabbed his wrist quickly. "Sorry, Val, we've got to go do something," he said. With that both boys left her alone with Sam.

Valerie looked over her shoulder at the disgruntled girl. "You sure he doesn't have a girlfriend?" she asked again, as she had a week ago.

"Yes, I'm sure," she answered, her tongue as sharp as the reaper's scythe. "I'm his best friend, I think I would know."

"And I would think," said Valerie, turning about-face to looked Sam in the face, "that after my suggestions and my warning, you might have fixed that problem of his by now."

Sam rolled her eyes. "How many times do I have to say it, Valerie?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "He's. My. Friend. If you like him, more power to you. Just know that me and Tucker will make sure you don't do anything to hurt him."

Valerie lifted a hand to her face and rubbed her aching temples. "Why do you two think I'm going to do anything to hurt Danny?" she asked. It really did puzzle her. "I mean, I know we were never the best of friends, but –"

"But you don't know everything about him," interrupted Sam. "Trust me, he's complicated." She shook her head and waved her hand, as though pushing away the subject. "Anyway, if you like him so much, why are you even trying to give me a chance?"

Valerie had expected this question, and knew how to answer it. "Hey, as far as I'm concerned, you have first dibs. Like you said, he's your best friend and you probably do know him better. Besides, you've liked him for a while – shut up, Sam, let me finish – and so far I've respected that." She smiled again, her eyes narrowing. "Just know that I'm not very patient. When I want something, I tend to go out and get it. It probably won't be very easy, though, because besides you there's always Danny's relentless crush on –"

"_Paullina_," they said together. Sam scoffed in distaste.

"Looks like we have a common enemy," said Valerie.

"Looks like it," she breathed. Valerie smiled again.

"So you admit it?"

Sam groaned and shook her head. "I've never liked her, okay? I wasn't ever in her inner circle like you."

This was growing tiring. It had been even before Valerie discovered she liked Danny. "Why don't you like Danny, then? I mean, I can think of a couple of reasons why I like him. He's cute, he's klutzy in this adorable kind of way, and did you see the way he stood up for us back there?"

Sam groaned again, trying to block out the constant noise coming from Valerie's mouth. "Yes, okay, I did."

"So just admit it," persisted Valerie, trying to break her open. If anything, she just wanted the satisfaction of knowing she'd been right.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not going to confess to _you_ that I re-" She paused as Valerie's smirk grew wider. Though Sam was lost at first, Valerie watched as realization dawned on the poor girl's face. She obviously hadn't been paying attention to what she was saying.

Sam glowered at Valerie in deep resentment. "Damn you."

"So now that you've finally decided to play," Valerie said, ignoring the comment, "I suggest you move your first piece before I decide to take the shot. Like I said, my patience wears thin. I like him; probably not as much as you, though." One last term of agreement popped into her mind. "But either way, don't mess with me whenever Danny's nearby, are we clear? I'm not going to try to separate him from you and Tucker, so just let me be his friend at least."

Sam bit her lip, her gaze still hard. "I don't have a problem with you and him being friends. I don't want to get into some pointless game with you, though."

"Unless you want me to ask him out, you do."

After what looked like a moment of consideration, she relaxed her shoulders and held out her hand. "All's fair in love and war."

"And high school," Valerie agreed, taking her hand and squeezing it firmly. She wasn't surprised at the equal force Sam put on her hand.

This was beginning to be an interesting... what would it be? A rivalry or some sort of twisted frienship? The bell rang just as Valerie spotted Danny and Tucker rounding the corner from wherever they had gone, and she would just have to do with settling for the word "relationship".

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_Author's Notes: There you have it, a mostly romantic-less one-shot! Yes, it is post-Reign Storm, pre-Ultimate Enemy. Think around the place of Pirate Radio. Well, you know the drill, review me please! And if you're reviewing anonymously, please leave an email address so I can reply to it._

_See you in the afterlife,_

_Saramis_


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